Pantie girdle crotch piece



April 26, 1949. RA EN Y 2,468,346

PANTIE GIRDLE GKOTCH PIECE Filed Jan. 11, 1949 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENroR MuRRnY J- RHYDEN ATTORNEY April 26, 1949. J. RAYDEN PANTIE G'TRDLECROTCH PIECE 2 t R m m S N a. w N e I w 2 fi 7 00 s y MW a. M "J 2 9 4 9l n a l J w w t q m M W a MURRAY J. RAYDEN ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 26,1949 [TED STATES ATENT QFFICE Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in crotch pieces employedin connection with panty irdles and more particularly to an improvednon-elastic crotch piece having a slightly off-center opening thereinwhich is normally maintained in a closed position by a slide fastener.

Crotch pieces having slit openings are not novel. However, thosedisclosed by prior patcuts are uncomfortable to the wearer by reason ofthe centrally disposed slide fasteners they employ, because they areconstructed of elastic sections which stretch unevenly, causin slidefasteners to stick and buckle and because they are lacking in means toadequately. protect a wearer from contact with the slide fastener.

An object of my invention is to provide a pantygirdle crotch piece whichwhile having a slit opening to enable the wearer to perform naturalfunctions without removing the entire garment in which the crotch pieceis incorporated, will yet be comfortable to wear and easy to open andclose.

A further object of my invention is to provide a crotch piece having acloseable slit opening to enable the wearer to perform natural functionswhich is adaptable to incorporation in such garments as panty-girdles,playsuits, and bathing suits.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a panty-girdl crotchpiece having a slit opening which may be conveniently opened and closedby slide fastener means and which is nevertheless comfortable to wear.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of my invention be had byreferrin to the following description and claims, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing which illustrates the preferred embodimentthereof, it being understood that the foregoing statement of the objectsof my invention is intended to generally explain the same withoutlimiting it in any manner.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the outer surfaces of the unassembled members,exclusive of the slide fastener, which are combined to form a crotchpiece embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front view in perspective of a panty girdle inwhich is incorporated the said crotch piece with the slit thereof in anopen position.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a panty-girdle in which is incorporatedthe said crotch piece with the slit closed showing the adaptationthereof with respect to a fragmentary simulation of the body of awearer.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 6- 3 of Fig. 3. 1

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear elevation ofa panty-girdle'in which isincorporated the Said crotch piece with the slit closed.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the inner surface of the assembled crotchpiece.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the outer surfaces of the unassembled membersof another embodiment of my invention, exclusive of the slide fastener.

Fig. 8 is a view of said embodiment, similar to the view of the listembodiment in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings and particularly the embodiment shown in Figs.1 through 6, the crotch piece therein illustrated comprises aconventional slide fastener having a slide (not shown) and left andright sides respectively 28 and 29 each side consisting of a flexibletape carrying a row of teeth, said left side being secured by a line ofstitching 27 along the upper surface of the inner edge 3| of inner flap30 which flap and said left side 28 in turn is secured by a line ofstitching 26 to the inwardly folded inner edge I! of the right panel Hand a. left panel [2 in which is formed an outer flap 33 by inwardlyfolding its inner edge 18, the said outer flap bein secured in place andat the same time having secured thereto the right side 29 of the slidefastener by a line of stitching 25. Assembly of the crotch piece iscompleted by fastening together the panels H and i2 and the inner andouter flaps 30 and 33 at the front and rear portions thereof by a lineof reinforcing stitching 34 at the front ends and a similar line ofreinforcing stitching 35 at the rear ends. Of course, closing the slidefastener brings together the panels along their inner sides.

Panels i I and I2 and inner flap 3!! are constructed in accordance withthe patterns therefor in Fig. 1 which shows that right panel II and leftpanel if! each comprise front portions respectively l3 and M, and rearportions respectively l5 and i6, and that each panel has substantiallylinear inner edges respectively I 1 and I 8, and outer edges, each suchouter edge being divided into three parts, an outwardly curved frontouter edge respectively I9 and 20, an inwardly curved middle outer edgerespectively 2! and 22, and an outwardly curved rear outer edgerespectively 23 and 24. The inner flap 39 consists of a substantiallyrectangular piece having an inner edge 3! and an outer edge 32.

The panels are substantially mirror images of each other except thatleft panel 12 is broader from its outer to its inner edges than is rightpanel ll.

The panels and inner flap are preferably made of a durable non-elasticmaterial. It has been found that if the crotch piece is made of anelastic material, the application of pressure to the slide of the slidefastener in order to open or close the same will result in a sticking orbucklin of the fastener.

In assembling the left side of the crotch piece, the first step is tofinish inner flap 3!! by folding the outer edge 32 thereof backunderneath the said flap along its entire length and securing the foldin place by the line of stitching 3,5. The slide fasteners left side 28is then secured along the upper surface of the inner edge 32 of innerflap 30, the teeth of said side extending toward the folded outer edge32, thereof. The inner edge I! of right panel H is then folded inwardlyalong its entire length to form fold 31 and both the inner edge 3| ofthe inner flap 30 and the slide fasteners left side 28 are secured tothe fold 31 by a line of stitching 26, the said left side 28 of theslide fastener being secured intermediate the said fold and flap andpositionedso that the teeth thereon extend out from the fold.

The right side of the crotch piece is assembled by folding the inneredge l8 of left panel I2 inwardly a sufficient distance along its entirelength to form the outer flap 33 and securing the same in place, as wellas attaching the right side 29 of the slide fastener along the length ofthe underside of said outer flap, by a line of stitching :25. The saidright side of the slide fastener being positioned so that the teeththereon eX- tend toward the fold of said outer flap. Left panel 12 isbroader than right panel I I primarily to permit the formation of outerflap 33' The two assembled sides are then brought together, so that theright and left sides 28 and 29.0f the slide fastener are oppositelypositioned and a slide (not shown) is inserted and pulled the length ofsaid fastener thus joining the two assembled sides. Assembly of thecrotch piece is completed by joining the front portions thereof by aline of reinforcing stitching 3.4 across the frontmost part thereof andby similarly joining the rear portions thereof by a like line ofreinforcing stitching 36. It is important to note at this point thatwhen the lines of reinforcing stitching 34 and 36 are made, theycompletely out across the front and rear ends of the inner flap 30. Thismay best be observed in Fig. 6. The importance of this step with respect;to the inner flap lies in the fact that by securing the endstransversely the flap will fall back into place between the slidefastener and the wear ers body as the wearer closes the slide fastener.

The crotch piece may then be incorporated in a panty-girdle, such as theone illustrated in Figs. 2, '3 and 5. Such a panty-girdle has a frontportion consisting of front center panel 38 to which is sewn left andright front panels respectively 3, 9 and 4 on either side thereof to allof which is affixed rear panel ll in conventional fashion to form abody-encircling garment. The assembled crotch piece is incorporated intothe garment by securing the front outer edges l9 and 2!] the right andleft panels I] and 12 to the front center panel 38 thereof, by a line ofstitching 42 and by securing rear outer edges 23 and 24 of said panelsto the rear panel All by a line of stitching 43.

To form the left leg opening of the garment a preferably decorative tape44 is sewn to the middle outer edge 2| of the right panel II of thecrotch piece, and continued around the lower edges of the front centerpanel 38, the left front panel ,39 and the lower left .edge of the rearpanel 4,] to the .place of beginning. The right legopening is formed insimilar fashion. Garter elemenis -4 ma e se d t e l e par ies of thegarment to act as hose supporters.

An important element of my invention resides in so placing the slit inthe crotch, or since it borders the slit, in so placing the sides 28 and.29 O th lid fa e tha when th crotch is incorporated in a garment andworn, the closed slide fastener along its length is slightly off ,centerin either direction. This may be accomplished in variety of Ways. Forinstance, the fold :31 in the inner edge of right panel II may be madedeeper and so pull the left side 28 of the slide fastener to the left.Or the outer flap 33 maybe folded more deeply and thus pull the rightside 29 of the slide fastener to the right. In any event, this departurehas greatly increased the comfort to the wearer. In practic it has beenfound that a displacement of substantially one-quarter of an inch toeither side is sufficient to produce the desired degree of comfort.

Another important element of my invention lies in the manner of securinginner flap 30 to right panel H. The lines of stitching 26 and 21 extendalong the entire edge 3| thereof. This feature in conjunction with thelines of reinforcing stitching 34 and 36 across the front and rear edgesof inner flap 3D insures that when the wearer dons a garmentincorporating the crotch piece the flap will always fall back in aposition to cover the slide fastener and protect the wearer from contactwith the same.

' The crotch piece is dimensioned to be incorporated in a snug-fittinggarment. There is no baggy lower portion thereof to depend between thewearers legs and interfere with the wearers movement or comfort.

For purposes of convenience, the slide of the slide fastener is soplaced as to be positioned to the top of the front portion of the crotchpiece when the same is in a closed position.

In Figs. '7 and 8 I have illustrated another embodiment of my invention.The sole change from the prior embodiment is that the inner flap is nowintegral with the right panel 11. As shown in Fig. 7 which illustratesthe pattern for the two panels, right panel II is now much broader thanleftpanel l2 in order to permit the formation of inner flap 3|) bfolding and tacking down as shown in Fig. '8. -What was edge I! of rightpanel H has now been looped around the left side 28 of the slidefastener and brought to what was the inner edge 31 of inner flap 30,making the said inner flap integral with right panel II. Thismodification has the advantage that the pattern is then formed from twoinstead of three pieces of material. Otherwise the two forms of myinvention are identical.

I have shown preferred embodiments of my invention, but it is obviousthat numerous changes, omissions and alterations may be made withoutdeparting from its spirit. Thus the outer flap 33 might be placed on thewearers left, in which event the inneriiap 30 might be positioned oneither side, vprovision'being made that both flaps be long enough tocover the-slide fastener. Then, too, the particular-design of thegarment in which the crotch'piecenis incorporated is not important. Itis suggested, however, that a snug-fitting type will make best use of myinvention. T

When in the claims, reference'ismade to a parity-girdle, the term shallbe deemed to include playsuits and bathing suits as well as .pantygirdles. .5111

Although I have described my invention-with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade only by way of example and that numerous additional changes in thedetails of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without transcending the scope of the invention as hereafterclaimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A crotch piece for incorporation in panty girdles, comprising leftand right panels, each such panel having substantially linear inneredges and each having an outwardly curved front outer edge, an inwardlycurved middle outer edge, and an outwardly curved rear outer edge, saidpanels being united at their front and rear portions' and forming a slittherebetween, said slit being slightly axially displaced, a slidefastener afiixed to the portions of the crotch piece constituting themargins of said slit whereby said margins may be united or separated andan inner flap secured underneath one of said margins underlying saidslide fastener and extending the length thereof, thereby protecting thewearer of such panty-girdle against contact with said slide fastener.

2. A crotch piece for incorporation in panty girdles, comprising leftand right panels, each such panel having substantially linear inneredges and each having an outwardly curved front outer edge, an inwardlycurved middle outer edge, and an outwardly curved rear outer edge, therear portions of said panels being slightly longer and slightly narrowerthan the front portions thereof, said panels being united at their frontand rear portions and forming a slit therebetween, said slit beingslightly axially displaced, a slide fastener afiixed to the portions ofthe crotch piece constituting the margins of said slit whereby saidmargins may be united or separated and an inner flap secured underneathone of said margins underlying said slide fastener and extending thelength thereof, thereby protecting the wearer of such panty-girdleagainst contact with said slide fastener.

3. A form-fitting crotch piece for incorporation in form-fitting pantygirdles, comprising left and right panels, each such panel havingsubstantially linear inner edges and each having an outwardly curvedfront outer edge, an inwardly curved middle outer edge, and an outwardlycurved rear outer edge, said panels being united at their front and rearportions and. forming a slit therebetween, said slit being slightlyaxially displaced, a slide fastener afiixed to the portions of thecrotch piece constituting the margins of said slit whereby said marginsmay be united or separated and an inner flap secured underneath one ofsaid margins underlying said slide fastener and ex tending the lengththereof, thereby protecting the wearer of such panty girdle againstcontact with said slide fastener, said inner edges being sufficientlygreat in length so that when the crotch piece is incorporated in a pantygirdle, the said slit so formed between said inner edges will extendvertically to at least the centers of the back and front portions ofsaid panty girdle.

4. A crotch piece for incorporation in panty girdles as described inclaim 3 hereof, said inwardly curved middle outer edges of said panelseach comprising a part of one leg portion of said panty girdle.

5. A form-fitting crotch piece for incorporation in form-fitting pantygirdles comprising left and right panels, each such panel havingsubstantially linear inner edges and each having an outwardly curvedfront outer edge, an inwardly curved middle outer edge, and an outwardlycurved rear outer edge, said panels being united at their frontmost andrearmost portions and forming a slit between their inner edges, saidinner edges being sufficiently great in length so that when the crotchpiece is incorporated in a panty girdle, the said slit so formed betweensaid inner edges will extend vertically to at least the centers of theback and front portions of said panty girdle, a slide fastener affixedto the portions of the crotch piece constituting the margins of saidslit Whereby said margins may be united or separated, and an inner flapbeing an extension of one of said panels and secured along substantiallyits entire inner edge to the inner edge of said panel, said flapunderlying said slide fastener and extending the length thereof, therebyprotecting the wearer of such panty girdle against contact with saidslide fastener.

MURRAY J. RAYDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name- Date 2,277,068 Bulloch Mar. 28, 19422,411,129 DAprile Nov. 12, 1946 2,437,830 McAllister Mar. 16, 19482,453,063 Cohen Nov. 2, 1948

